I think it's safe to call Ressence one of – if not the – most interesting mechanical watch companies to show up on the scene in the past five years. They are making something entirely new in a very real way, and we at HODINKEE have long believed they deserve your attention. Today, we have a brand new model from Ressence – called the Type 5, and it. is. awesome. Oh, and did I mention it's a dive watch? And not just any dive watch, but what Ressence calls the most legible dive watch EVER.

I think it's safe to call Ressence one of – if not the – most interesting mechanical watch companies to show up on the scene in the past five years. They are making something entirely new in a very real way, and we at HODINKEE have long believed they deserve your attention. Today, we have a brand new model from Ressence – called the Type 5, and it. is. awesome. Oh, and did I mention it's a dive watch? And not just any dive watch, but what Ressence calls the most legible dive watch EVER.

Ressence founder and designer Benoit Mintiens describes the Type Five as the most "watch-like" of any his creations to date. What he means by this is it, you know, actually has a case, with lugs and everything! All previous watches from Ressence were organic shapes, with the case serving as both the enclosure for the complicated movement, and the display itself. The Type 5, with its recessed case back and beautiful organic lines, has very much the same notes of a living machine as earlier Ressence watches, but at the same time, feels a bit more tool-like, thanks to, among other things, a rotating bezel and an (included) NATO-style strap.

What you'll notice right away is that the Type 5 is indeed based on the Type 3, and retains the innovative display system that involves magnets and an oil-filled chamber. The domed shape of the dial, with the display floating in oil is what allows the Type 5 to become the most legible dive watch in history. Why? Try taking a Submariner or any traditional dive watch underwater – it'll be easy enough to read when you're looking at it directly, but (especially in shallower dives with a lot of light from the surface) if you look at it from an off angle, reflections can turn the crystal into a mirror, making it opaque and impossible to read. The Type 5 is legible from any angle, even under water. (We're not exaggerating – watch people being watch people, someone has actually done the wet work for us on showing this is really an issue.)

On the rear of the Type 5 you will see a very simple time-setting device that is unlocked via a switch on the side of the case (seen below). This example is a prototype; in production models the rotor will read "Type 5." Having used a Type 1 and Type 3 extensively, I can say the Type 5 is by far the easiest to set and wind.

The dial of the Type 5 definitely reflects a more technical orientation than the preceding Type 3, showing hours and minutes, along with the temperature gauge and the "runner" display. The oil temperature gauge works in an interesting way. The watch is built in two sections – the display section that is filled with oil, and the lower, dry chamber which contains the movement itself. Oil is incompressible, but it will expand and contract as the temperature changes. There is an internal bellows system to compensate, but at the high and low end of the temperature range, the oil may force its way into the movement as it expands, or a bubble may appear as it contracts. The expansion and contraction of the oil is what drives the temperature gauge, but it also shows the safe operating temperature range for the watch as well (shown by the yellow section; the range is -10/+40 Celcius).

There is more than meets the eye with what looks like the running seconds sub-dial. First of all it rotates once every 90 seconds; it's there as a proof-of-function display (very important in a dive watch). Second, it acts as a shock absorber. Here's the how and why on that. You see, the movement is coupled to the display by magnets. That means that if there is a shock, the magnets might become de-coupled from the display. To keep the movement and display aligned, there are small fins on the underside of the "runner" display that stick into the oil. If there is a sudden shock, the drag these fins create keeps the the magnets and display from shifting out of alignment. This is a really cool solution to what might have been a deal-breaker for a sports/dive watch.

The Type 5 is 46 mm in diameter, which in fact sounds quite large but in reality the watch feels and wears much smaller. If you know Benoit, you know that he is anything but showy, and the case size of the Type 5 is certainly something that might make a few raise their brows – but again, due to the recessed case back, the edge-to-edge display, and the floating feeling of the entire watch, it feels rather organic and even demure on the wrist.

The Type 5, being a dive watch, benefits from spectacular blue lume that I am told is actually 2.5x the brightness of traditional Super-Luminova. This photo below was taken in our office in relatively dim light with a colleague's hands cupping the watch. It really is that bright.

If you had asked me what I'd expect the newest watch from Ressence would be, a diver would likely have been at the bottom of the list, but that is exactly what makes this brand so wonderful. They do the unexpected, and they do it with a very sharp eye for design, and with a true desire to innovate, and to innovate in meaningful ways. The Ressence Type 5 begins delivery today and the price will be $35,800 – less than the Type 3.